Dutch Supermarket Chain Opens Slower 'Chat Checkouts' In An Effort To Combat Loneliness Among The Elderly

January 17, 2022

A large supermarket chain in the Netherlands is opening hundreds of "chat checkouts" in an effort to combat loneliness.

Photo Republic / Marco De Swart

Jumbo supermarkets will be opening up 200 Kletskassas, or "chat checkouts" where customers can take their time and talk rather than pay for their groceries as quickly as possible.

The first Kletskassa was opened in 2019 in Brabant. Its success prompted the company to plan for another 200 to be operative in 2022.

"Many people, the elderly in particular, can feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain we have a central role in society. Our shops are a meeting place and that means we can do something to combat loneliness. The Kletskassa is just one of the things we can do," Jumbo CCO Colette Cloosterman-Van Eerd said.

Apart from the Kletskassa, a number of Jumbo supermarkets also introduced a "chat corner" where locals come to have a coffee and talk.